trapezeartist

Been there, done that, no tee-shirt but a few bumps and bruises. Stick at it, go at your own pace, and soon you’ll be wondering whatever the fuss was about.

Super costs about 15p per litre more. And you use 1.5 to 2 litres in a trial. I just throw in the Super to play safe even though it’s probably not needed.

I recorded the programme on 1 June. The caption said it was World Trials. in reality it was some bloke with one leg walking up mountains. Disappointed.

Nice looking trailer!

For gross and unladen weight, make up some numbers that seem reasonable. If it’s a fairly light trailer, put one wheel on your bathroom scales (when SWMBO is not at home!), double it and add a little bit for the noseload and that’s your unladen weight. Now add on your bike weight and round up to the next 50kg. That’s your gross weight. Now make a sticker with those numbers and put it on the trailer. If it’s a tidy looking trailer that doesn’t look like it might be unroadworthy, no-one is going to bother you.

I so nearly made the same mistake myself last week. I was just a bit luckier than you. I’m sure you’ll find a suitable ball with no problem. The spring is about the same diameter as a ballpoint pen, but much stronger.

I’ve no idea whether ‘gasoline’ is a brand name but I’m pretty sure ‘petrol’ is not. It’s an abbreviation of ‘petroleum spirit’. On a serious note, ‘gas’ is ambiguous and a potential source of confusion. ‘Petrol’ is not. Or on a lighter note, I just like winding up the colonials.?

Yes. All checked a couple of months ago and no rework necessary.

We all know that Americans call petrol “gas”. So what do they call gas? You know, the stuff you cook with, or indeed any element or compound in a gaseous state.

I use a Citroen Berlingo which is basically the same car as a Doblo. No wheelchair conversion. The bike goes in nicely with the back seats removed.

Great disappointment at today’s trial: the drag is back! After the first few sections I realised I had two bite points. One with the lever against the grip and one with my finger at nearly full stretch. After waiting to go into a section, first application of the clutch was the former. Any further slipping of the clutch and it was the latter. Next section: back to square one. For this trial I developed a technique of pausing and slipping the clutch just before the Begins card, so I could get the consistent full-stretch bite point all through the section. This was much better but it’s still far from ideal. I’m still scratching my head about what to do next. Another change of oil? Aftermarket clutch plates?

Exactly like mine then, Dan. My stand was a bit wobbly. When I took off the swinging arm and then removed the stand, one of the helicoils had partly come out so was preventing the stand seating properly. My local mechanic tried to replace the helicoil but the new coil wouldn’t go in properly. I drilled through the swinging arm and used a M8 nut and bolt.

Agreed. The long side has the ball-end on it so you end up having to apply torque with the short side (by bodging on a bit of tube, or mole grips, or something). Not nice. Dan, did you find the threads had helicoils in them? I'm not sure if Beta put them in as standard, or whether mine has already been repaired before I got it.

I can’t disagree with that. I had to do the job on the bench with the swinging arm removed. And checking the fixings is one of the items on the Beta UK SSDT preparation list. It might be possible to access them with a T-handle allen key, but I don’t have one the right size.

The previous owner seemed to have something of a passion for ground clearance.?

The 3mm washer worked perfectly and I now have play-free steering.

I couldn’t get hold of any Nanotrans locally so I put in some 10W40 motorcycle gearbox oil blended with 20% ATF. It worked a treat and the clutch is much better. Btw, I noticed on a Jim Snell video that he advises avoiding synthetic oils in the gearbox as they are too “clingy” and cause clutch drag. It seems a reasonable hypothesis.

Seems a bit harsh, Dan. I would agree it’s a bit agricultural, but it works. I’ve just had to rework mine a bit. It moved about slightly on the swinging arm. When I took it all off I found a loose helicoil on one of the fixings. (Do Beta fit helicoils as standard or has mine already had a repair?) We couldn’t get a new helicoil to go in right so I drilled through and used a nut and bolt.

The new bearings are in ?. Using a big bolt and various combinations of sockets and washers to make an insertion tool. I followed pindie’s advice with the copper slip grease. It took a pretty heavy force on the spanner to work them in. It’s much easier on insertion though because the bearings are pushed in one at a time from each side. Attempting to push them out requires both bearings to be moved at once.

Success this evening.? An hour and a half working away withe dremel and they’re out. It sorely depleted my stock of carborundum points though, and I was in danger of running out before finishing the job. Now I’m worrying about putting the new ones in. The old ones were not corroded into the arm as I expected so there’s not much reason why the forces should be any different. And brutality is not an option with the new ones.

I tried that last night, without success ☹️. I used sockets and one of the bolts from the linkage. The bolt was M10 which is the biggest which will go through a half-inch socket and wound it all up as tight as I could. It didn't even look like moving. It will need properly turned-up rings and a bigger bolt if this method is to work at all. Or a hydraulic press.

If you think starting in gear with the clutch pulled in is dangerous, it might be best to keep away from motorbikes altogether. They’re dangerous. I would think Beta spec the clutch pack for the most aggressive rider they can imagine (probably the works riders). For someone who goes at things more gently, I can well imagine that one or two thinner clutch plates would be helpful. I’m having a few issues with my clutch (250 2T). I’m hoping to find a solution by changing gearbox oil but I’m keeping the “thin plates” option up my sleeve in case I need it (and in case it works).

I spent some time this afternoon knocking seven bells out of them with a socket on the top. Cold, that achieved nothing. I have an electric paint stripper but I’d be reluctant to give it too much heat as it may ruin the powder coating. My bench vice went to meet it’s maker after being used too many times as a press, so I think I’ll take the swinging arm to someone with a proper press, who can also push in the new ones.

Any tips for removing seized swinging arm bearings? And putting in the new ones? I managed to remove the top hat inner races after a struggle but the seals and the outer races are still firmly in place. I would like to avoid the use of a hacksaw if possible.

I took the cover off tonight and tried to measure the release movement. I couldn’t really get a good place to get my depth gauge in, but full movement appeared to be about 1mm. The more I think about it, the more it seems like oil drag on the plates is the root cause, followed by over-adjustment to try to compensate. So I need to try a different oil. Probably something nice and thin. Is ATF really going to give an on-off feel?